Land disputes in South Taranaki
Riwha Tītokowaru was a Ngā Ruahine Methodist lay preacher who was later influenced by Pai Mārire. Initially he was committed to peace, but as settlers moved into South Taranaki and land confiscations began, Tītokowaru vowed to defend Māori land. On 9 June 1868 a disagreement over cutting rights near Māwhitiwhiti led to the killing of three sawyers. Māori accused of the killings took refuge among Ngā Ruahine led by Tītokowaru, who refused to turn them over to the government. Four hundred additional Armed Constabulary (colonial army) troops were recruited and posted to Taranaki, along with 100 Whanganui Māori.
The war begins
On 12 July 1868, Tītokowaru’s force attacked a small redoubt at Turuturumōkai, 5 kilometres from the main Armed Constabulary redoubt at Waihī, near Hāwera. The early morning assault lasted for two hours, with Māori unable to breach the redoubt walls. Ten members of the Armed Constabulary, including the officer in command, Captain Frederick Ross, were killed before reinforcements arrived from Waihī.
Te Ngutu-o-te-manu
In retaliation for this assault, Tītokowaru’s village, Te Ngutu-o-te-manu, was attacked on 21 August 1868, with inconclusive results. A second expedition was launched on 7 September, when a 360-strong force under Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas McDonnell approached the village before Ngā Ruahine opened fire from concealed positions in the forest. McDonnell ordered a retreat, but not before 24 of his men, including Major Gustavus von Tempsky, had been killed. Following this defeat, the Armed Constabulary abandoned Waihī redoubt and withdrew to Waverley. McDonnell was relieved of his command and replaced by Colonel George Whitmore.
Moturoa
On 7 November 1868, Whitmore attacked Tītokowaru at Moturoa, inland from Waverley, with over 300 men, including Māori from Whanganui under the leadership of Te Keepa Te Rangihiwinui (‘Major Kemp’). Whitmore’s frontal assault proved ineffective against well-constructed ramparts and concealed riflemen. With casualties mounting (19 of his men died, against only one of Tītokowaru’s) and the engagement clearly lost, Whitmore retreated to Waverley.
Taurangaika
Following the engagement at Moturoa, Tītokowaru moved to Taurangaika, a pā near Nukumaru, building massive earthworks. The Armed Constabulary approached the pā in late January 1869 and encamped some distance away, preparing for an assault in early February. However, when the assault was launched on 3 February, the pā was found to have been abandoned. The reasons are uncertain. According to Kimble Bent, an American ex-soldier now serving with Tītokowaru, a major disagreement had arisen on the evening before the expected battle. As a consequence, the decision had been taken to withdraw into the bush, effectively bringing Tītokowaru’s campaign to an end. Tītokowaru covered the retreat of his people as they fled inland from Waitōtara.
